Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

discuss them. 391 Moreover, one can hardly imagine a custodial interrogation that
is not in some way “coercive,” as the interrogator “is part of a system that gives
him or her certain powers and controls (arrest and detention, power to charge,
power to ask questions, control over the suspect’s freedom of movement and
access to the outside world).” 392
Interrogators generally use persuasive methods to convince suspects that
“their best interests are served by a confession.” 393 Some of the available manuals
recommend strategies of deception, including concealment of police identity
while trying to obtain a confession or admission, misrepresentation of the nature
or seriousness of the offense during interrogation, and even trickery, such as
presenting the suspect with false evidence of guilt. 394 Gudjonsson argues, however,
that “the risk of false confessions is very real when psychologically manipulative
and deceptive techniques are employed.” 395 Thus, interrogators must be aware of
these dangers. They should also recognize the three general classes of stressors
that are relevant to police interrogations, so that they can both understand what a
suspect is experiencing and manipulate the stressors as needed:
• Stress caused by the physical environment at the police station;
• Stress caused by confinement and isolation from peers; and
• Stress caused by the suspect’s submission to authority. 396
The following subsections summarize the various suggestions for
interrogation techniques provided by the classic texts for each of the eight aspects
mentioned above. The selected sources view interrogation as a method to both
secure confessions and gather accurate information in a legal and ethical fashion.
However, any such summary can only scratch the surface of “how-to” guides that
contain hundreds of pages each. Nonetheless, we attempt to draw together those
areas on which the authorities basically agree, as well as to point out some of the
most salient suggestions made by each author in the various areas. We base the
discussion on the Reid Technique, as it is the most widely used and accepted, and
in many instances seems to be the basis for the other techniques as well. 397
Characteristics/Qualifications of the Interrogator
All authorities agree that not just anyone can be a successful interrogator. It
takes an intense dedication to the art of interrogation, years of practice and study,
and certain personality characteristics, only some of which can be learned.
391
Id., p. 8.
392
Id., p. 25.
393
Id., p. 8.
394
Id.
395
Id., p. 9.
396
Id.,p. 26.
397
Most of the discussion will refer to the interrogator and subject/suspect as “he.” This is done to
accommodate the texts which almost uniformly use “he,” and of course is not meant to imply in any
way that either party must be male.
175